Innovations you would like to see

The Great Zaganza

Maledictorian
The Great Zaganza
Joined
Aug 14, 2016
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Just a place to drop idea or gripes about things that you think could be done, or done better.
Not the Big Things like curing stupidity, but innovations that should be attainable or deserve more research.



I'll start:

Washing Clothes:
looking at the amount of Dryer Lint, I see the equivalent of a small towel in fabric being destroyed each week. The current type of Washer/Dryer have been around in principle for 100 years+.
Maybe there is a better way, perhaps in combination with better fabrics, to keep clothes clean without actively destroying them.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Just a place to drop idea or gripes about things that you think could be done, or done better.
Not the Big Things like curing stupidity, but innovations that should be attainable or deserve more research.



I'll start:

Washing Clothes:
looking at the amount of Dryer Lint, I see the equivalent of a small towel in fabric being destroyed each week. The current type of Washer/Dryer have been around in principle for 100 years+.
Maybe there is a better way, perhaps in combination with better fabrics, to keep clothes clean without actively destroying them.
Click to expand...
Wasn't that "dry cleaning"?
 
Luddites.

I'll keep harping on this until something is done: hand soap bottles that you don't have to twist and turn endlessly to pop up the handle every which way and still don't work.

So, what else is going on....
 
those goddam plastic wrap dispensers that in over six decades of daily use I have never successfully been able to tear off a piece of the right size without mangling it.
 
grunion said:
those goddam plastic wrap dispensers that in over six decades of daily use I have never successfully been able to tear off a piece of the right size without mangling it.
Click to expand...
I actually stopped buying them a long time ago and it has reduced my blood pressure by about half. Those serrated edges for cutting are just there to mock you.

Aluminium foil is your friend and usually does the job just as well.
 
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grunion said:
those goddam plastic wrap dispensers that in over six decades of daily use I have never successfully been able to tear off a piece of the right size without mangling it.
Click to expand...
I live with someone who is like you, and also manages to mangle the dispenser.

I'd show you all how it's done, but you all seem to be on a roll (see what I did there?) with your peevedness.
 
I was going to tell you how to handle the plastic wrap dispensers, but then I saw Orphia's post and decided not to; who knows what of you would direct your frustration at if we told you? (But if you decide to use your frustration to invent a way to break into those bloody clamshell packages for electronics without causing grievous bodily harm to yourself in the process, I may rethink this decision.)
 
Helen said:
I was going to tell you how to handle the plastic wrap dispensers, but then I saw Orphia's post and decided not to; who knows what of you would direct your frustration at if we told you?
(But if you decide to use your frustration to invent a way to break into those bloody clamshell packages for electronics without causing grievous bodily harm to yourself in the process, I may rethink this decision.)
Click to expand...
Yeah, that too. You shouldn't need bolt cutters to open your new USB phone charger package from Amazon - they should already come with it.
 
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They'd only put the bolt cutters in a clamshell as well, wouldn't they, and then where would we be? Facing an infinite progression of ever growing clamshells, that's where! Might as well give in right now, and allow yourself to be buried in one...
 
Orphia Nay said:
I live with someone who is like you, and also manages to mangle the dispenser.

I'd show you all how it's done, but you all seem to be on a roll (see what I did there?) with your peevedness.
Click to expand...
Helen said:
I was going to tell you how to handle the plastic wrap dispensers, but then I saw Orphia's post and decided not to; who knows what of you would direct your frustration at if we told you?
Click to expand...
I think it's one of those things that nobody gets right on the first try, but if you do it often enough, eventually you will get the hang of it.
The level of difficulty may also vary from brand to brand.
It's a bit like learning to ride a bike. An explanation won't help much. You just have to practice it until something clicks for you and you get it. It becomes a muscle memory.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Maybe there is a better way, perhaps in combination with better fabrics, to keep clothes clean without actively destroying them.
Click to expand...
A heated clothes airer (clothes horse, here) might be an alternative.
When we lived in London, our friends and neighbours thought having a tumble drier was quite the novelty.
We were astonished that practically none of them had one in their house.
 
I doubt washing clothes in tubs on washboards (aka simulated abs) or pounding them with rocks and then line drying them produces less lint than a washer and tumble dryer. I suspect the older methods just dispersed most of the lint instead of collecting it.

Also, lint was used in wound treatment from ancient times up until the mid 19th century, all pre-dating the invention of the tumble dryer.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Maybe there is a better way, perhaps in combination with better fabrics, to keep clothes clean without actively destroying them.
Click to expand...
If you only use non-synthetic fabrics (e.g. cotton, linen, wool), then you can dispose of the dryer lint in your compost bin.
 
Those nut packages on airplanes? I mean what the hell, man? I spend ten minutes to get them open and then three minutes of eating them.

Also airplanes. If a black box can survive any crash, then why don't they just make the whole airplane out of it?

On my flight here, we had an emergency. They announced than in case of an emergency landing, your seat cushion can be used as flotation device. I thought "No, my seat cushion will be used as a toilet device!"

I'll be here all week. Please remember to tip your servers.
 
PitPat said:
Those nut packages on airplanes? I mean what the hell, man? I spend ten minutes to get them open and then three minutes of eating them.
Click to expand...
What are you complaining about. That’s 13 minutes of free entertainment. Even more if there is a passenger on board that suffers from nut anaphylaxis.
PitPat said:
Also airplanes. If a black box can survive any crash, then why don't they just make the whole airplane out of it?
Click to expand...
Christ on a bike. Tesla stainless steel Cyberplanes?
PitPat said:
On my flight here, we had an emergency. They announced than in case of an emergency landing, your seat cushion can be used as flotation device. I thought "No, my seat cushion will be used as a toilet device!"
Click to expand...
And your tray table can be used as a manual shark repellent.
PitPat said:
I'll be here all week. Please remember to tip your servers.
Click to expand...
I can’t see how that would be helpful.
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It's been decades since I got served nuts on an airplane. Nowadays it seems to be rice crackers or something like that.
 
Affordable cars without pointless gadgets. Engine management systems, and parking sensors are generally good things, but electrics seats, sensors warning you of a blind spot, button operated doors are all un-necessary, and make such cars uneconomic to own (when you have so many extras).

Simplifying life in general would be an innovation worth pursuing.
 
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wobs said:
Affordable cars without points gadgets. Engine management systems, and parking sensors are generally good things, but electrics seats, sensors warning you of a blind spot, button operated doors are all un-necessary, and make such cars uneconomic to own (when you have have so many extras).

Simplifying life in general would be an innovation worth pursuing.
Click to expand...
Also, just stuff that can break. I will never forget the time my honda electric lock broke, at a time when I couldn't afford to fix it. I had to get in through the passenger seat or like I was a Duke brother for a year.
 
I would like to see a move away from plastic bottles to, say, glass ones.

Infinitely more recyclable and, if you got it right, you could get people to return the bottles for re-use. Perhaps with some sort of small monetary reward for giving them back to the manufacturer to clean and re-use...
 
3point14 said:
I would like to see a move away from plastic bottles to, say, glass ones.

Infinitely more recyclable and, if you got it right, you could get people to return the bottles for re-use. Perhaps with some sort of small monetary reward for giving them back to the manufacturer to clean and re-use...
Click to expand...
When I was very young my grandparents bought soda from a local soda company that would clean and reuse bottles. This was late 70s or early 80s. I assume after some inspection to make sure they weren't chipped or cracked and what not. IDK, could we get robots to do that? Or as you say, just recycle them. Aluminum is also great for recycling. More or less can't find aluminum cans in vending machines and convenience stores anymore, its all plastic.
 
ahhell said:
When I was very young my grandparents bought soda from a local soda company that would clean and reuse bottles. This was late 70s or early 80s. I assume after some inspection to make sure they weren't chipped or cracked and what not. IDK, could we get robots to do that? Or as you say, just recycle them. Aluminum is also great for recycling. More or less can't find aluminum cans in vending machines and convenience stores anymore, its all plastic.
Click to expand...

It was a thing when I was young. You'd get 2p or something per bottle from the publican who would send the bottles back for re-use.

Same thing with milk bottles, you'd put the empty ones out and the milkman would take them away when they brought your milk in the morning.

Infinitely better systems abandoned in the name of shareholder value because the costs of blighting the world with plastic can be externalised.

(Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. Good news about the teeth, eh?)
 
What I want to see is a clothes dryer that pumps air out of the dryer. This would lower the boiling point of the water in the clothes to below room tempreture. So all the water in your clothes boils off. You might need a little heat so that your clothes do not come out freezing and get condensation on them.
 
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rjh01 said:
What I want to see is a clothes dryer that pumps air out of the dryer. This would lower the boiling point of the water in the clothes to below room tempreture. So all the water in your clothes boils off. You might need a little heat so that your clothes do not come out freezing and get condensation on them.
Click to expand...

I've not seen it in a dryer, but have seen it in a stand-alone spinner, in a laundrette.

The owner worked on premises, providing a 'bag-wash' service, and he showed me the machine.

After sealing the outer lid, a partial vacuum was formed, and then the internal drum would rotate at high speed.

The clothing was nearly dry when removed from the machine.

He used that machine because it massively reduced the drying time in the dryers, significantly lowering his energy costs and increasing his throughput.

I've just had a poke around online and can see plenty of standalone spinners, but haven't been able to see one that advertises the low pressure aspect.
 
I had to replace my washing machine recently, and I got one that was a combo washer and dryer. My old one just evaporated the water and spit humid air into the laundry - I always had to open the door to the garage to vent it. The new one condenses the water and sends it down the drain with the laundry water.
 
3point14 said:
I would like to see a move away from plastic bottles to, say, glass ones.

Infinitely more recyclable and, if you got it right, you could get people to return the bottles for re-use. Perhaps with some sort of small monetary reward for giving them back to the manufacturer to clean and re-use...
Click to expand...
More breakages, higher transport costs due to weight.
Also here we return plastic bottles and aluminium cans.
 
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